BELLE awoke in her new bed. The blankets and thick fur pelts were pulled up around her snugly as she had burrowed underneath the blankets for warmth last night. She lay there a while as her eyes fluttered open. It was still dark out, or so it seemed until she turned her head to the side and saw the curtains were pulled tightly across her window.

Despite the darkness, streams of sunlight peeked in through the cracks. For a long moment, Belle lay there, unable to move, paralyzed by what had happened last night. Her mind was stuck on thoughts of seeing the Prince in his monstrous cursed form and then the old woman with the strange magic flower that had just…vanished.

What had that been about? she thought, staring numbly up at the ceiling of her room, keeping her hands folded across her stomach as she frowned, the edges of her mouth turning downward.

She frowned. She did not understand the old woman's presence in the castle and what she wanted.

She looked for the Beast to her left and right, but her new master was nowhere to be seen at all. Belle felt a few terrible moments of panic as her concern took hold of her heart and it fluttered painfully against her ribcage. She had just had the blankets thrown off of her when last night's events and the conversation she'd had with the Prince began to come back.

Belle quickly realized it could not have been a dream, for not even her dreams were ever that vivid.

Surely, what she had gone through last night could only be very real.

A chill ran through her at the thought. She shook her head to clear her mind, though she was having trouble shaking the memories away. Belle rose to her feet, frustrated, but she was drawn to the good smells of bacon and sausage and eggs floating through the air.

Before she could stop it from happening, a sharp shooting pain shot through her midsection, her third or fourth in the last few seconds since she had woken, and her stomach angrily growled.

A painful reminder that she had not eaten much in the last two days.

As she made to head towards the door, thinking she heard the sound of footsteps, Belle was stricken with a feeling of apprehension as she remembered she was to bring the Prince his meal. He would be waiting for her this morning the moment she set foot in the dining room as his maid.

Would he remember their conversation and perhaps be kinder to her, or would he still be cruel?

Belle furrowed her brows as she remembered she had not changed her clothes.

She turned on her heels and padded barefoot towards her small wardrobe, opening it and she was unable to stifle her gasp of surprise at the clothes within the wardrobe. A selection of the same uniforms was within. Yet there were also a few beautiful gowns made of the most expensive linen, velvet, and silk fabrics she'd ever one of these dresses could have easily fed all of their villagers for a month or two.

Belle dressed quickly for her first day on the job as the Prince's maid in a light green satin blouse, brown bodice, and a brown satin skirt. She quickly ran a brush through her hair and worked with nimble fingers to braid her hair into a low loose braided ponytail. She grabbed a pair of scuffed-looking black shoes that looked to have seen better days, yet still seemed high quality. She slipped them even as she tied an embroidered apron around her small waist, she felt as though something was missing.

She paused and ticked off what she had done so far since waking this morning on her fingertips. Her hair was braided, she was dressed. She looked towards the vanity by the wardrobe and on the chipped surface rested a green scarf. With a swift motion, she scooped up the scarf and settled it into her hair.

Once she had fully dressed and felt certain she had any belongings she might need, Belle forced herself to shove her emotions once again into the pit of her stomach as she strode proudly out of the room.

Her new dog Prince happily trailed along at his new owner's heels, his little tail already wagging and he gave a short bark.

"Come on, Prince, we'll be late at this rate, hurry!" Belle called, an affectionate smile finding her cheeks as the little black puppy darted in between her legs and scampered ahead of her, giving another bark before turning and tugging on the hem of her dress. Belle could not help but smile at the dog's behavior.

To her, it seemed as though the little dog was trying to lead the way.

Belle tsked and tried to scold Prince.

"Stop chewing on my skirt, Prince, your master won't like it if I present myself to him with holes in this new uniform," she bemoaned, but the puppy did not seem to care. Prince out a low growl and did not let go of her skirt, still dragging her through the hallway."Alright, alright, I'm coming, I'm coming!"

A giggle escaped Belle's full lips at how expressive this puppy could be.

She knew she was right to name him Prince, though she suspected the real Prince would not like it.

Still, that was a conversation best saved for later. She was impressed that the puppy had such intelligent eyes for an animal, she could not imagine how Princess Circe could have punished the poor little dog in the way she would have, had Belle not stepped in to intervene.

A jolt ran through her at the thought of encountering the Prince's bride again and a surge of anger swelled within her, though she forced herself to stamp it down.

LeFou had risked his well-being and Gaston's wrath to bring her here, she would not jeopardize his sacrifice and have it be for nothing by getting herself dismissed on her first day of employment in the castle by losing her temper with the Prince's bride.

Shoving thoughts of Princess Circe aside, she forced herself to stay focused. She allowed the dog to lead her down the hall, she forced her ears to listen intently for any sound of movement from either the Princess or the Prince. Belle wondered how he thought he would keep his curse a secret from her.

Princess Circe seemed a woman of many things, none of which were good, and stupid was not one of them. She would piece together that something was amiss when the Prince disappeared in the middle of the night. She would follow him one night and then learn the truth.

When she did, then, what would become of him? Would she stay with him, or go?

She was still pondering this odd thought when Prince came to a stop in front of a door she presumed was the door to the kitchen, for this was where the source of the good smells of breakfast had been coming from. As if on cue, her stomach rumbled even louder, and Belle was left with no choice but to push open the doors. She was hungry, despite her anxiety at the thought of facing the Prince.

Given that the sun was up, she was sure the man would now be human again if her memory was serving her correctly when he'd said his curse only came upon him when the sun went down.

She wondered what she would say to him.

After last night, what could she say to the man after an encounter like last night? She was still pondering this as she opened the door to the kitchens and the puppy immediately let go of her skirt.

"No stealing, Prince!" Belle warned him after the puppy made an immediate beeline for the head cook at the stove the moment she opened the doors and headed inside.

At the front of the stove stood the head cook of the kitchens. He seemed to be a large boisterous Frenchman named Louis who seemed kind enough and chuckled at the sight of the pup and slipped him a small bite of bacon out of the pan. A hint of amusement danced behind Belle's serious tone as the puppy snorted in response and trotted off without so much as a second glance behind him

She chuckled to herself and turned her attention towards the three older adults and dropped into a low, graceful curtsy. Belle did not expect to find the gentlemen from the other night, Monsieur's Lumiere and Cogsworth, and Mrs. Potts too, all of them standing by the head chef as he worked.

Lumiere was leaning against the wall in a relaxed stance, though the handsome man straightened his posture the moment he saw Belle walk shyly towards them. Lumiere gave his colleague Monsieur Cogsworth a light jab in the side that made the old man shoot him a withering look with pursed lips.

It was obvious the three Heads of House had been talking in hushed tones and most probably about her since their conversation went quiet the moment she strode up to them.

Lumiere was the first to greet her with a dazzlingly white smile she suspected was meant to charm and disarm her, to throw off her suspicions about their conversation that had certainly been about her.

"Ma Cherie, good morning! We were just about to come and fetch you if you did not show yourself within the next ten minutes. You are very nearly late, but you are awake. You must be starved, are you hungry?"

"Oh, yes," Belle agreed, though she quirked a brow in suspicion as she did not miss the fact that Monsieur Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts exchanged a funny but private look with each other.

Belle nearly gasped as she was handed a plate of hard-boiled eggs, three strips of crunchy-looking bacon still dripping in oil, a wedge of cheese, and a small half loaf of bread.

Not even Papa had been able to afford this much food when she had still lived at home.

She looked down at the meal on her plate and then flicked her gaze back up towards the head chef Louis and tried to thank the cook with her eyes.

The man shot her a lopsided little grin that told her without words that there was no need. Though the head chef did jerk his head towards her plate and offered up a hoarse grunt.

"Better eat that quickly, lass. The Prince won't appreciate his meal delivered so late."

Belle nodded. "Thank you, monsieur, for the meal…" she hesitantly began, and then she remembered what Mrs. Potts had said to her last night about all of the servants being treated as equals in the castle. "Chef—I mean, Louis, sir. It looks delicious."

She mentally kicked herself for her was not like her at all, but thankfully, the head cook did not seem to notice and instead continued to busy himself with preparing the Prince's meal, the same as Belle's, though a much heartier portion.

Belle began to nibble at her meal on her plate slowly. She moved to lean against the sideboard counter as she brought a spoonful of eggs to her lips and gazed around the kitchen. Even the kitchen itself was so vast. She feared she would easily get lost within the castle and prayed the Prince would be lenient with her the first few times he needed her, and she would not be late. The halls of the castle were a maze, anyone could get lost if they were not familiar with its structure, which she was not, not yet.

But this is your home now, you will be familiar with it, in time, she tried to tell herself as she brought up a sausage with her fingers. Belle let out a frustrated sigh and dropped the sausage link back onto her breakfast plate. She did not think she could eat another bite at all. She felt sick to her stomach.

Already, she could feel bile rising in her throat. She set down her plate and closed her eyes shut, willing her strange bout of nausea to leave her body. When it passed and she no longer feared she would be sick, she opened her eyes to find the three Heads of the House staring at her in worry and confusion.

Monsieur Cogsworth, who had been busy checking an ornate golden pocket watch tucked securely into an inner pocket of his maroon velvet coat, straightened and gave her an odd look as he peered at her through his spectacles.

"My dear, are you feeling well? You have gone pale. Did you sleep well?" he asked softly.

Belle nearly jumped at the older gentleman's question and could only gape at the old man.

What had he meant by that? Was there a chance that the Heads of the House knew about her letting the old woman inside? Had the Prince mentioned anything to them this morning of encountering her in the hallways after dark? No. Surely not. The Prince had sworn her to secrecy, and if she had been dismissed, Belle thought that it would have been one of the first things out of her mouth as she'd greeted them.

Her cheeks flushed red at the memory of encountering the Changeling Prince in his cursed form, but she recovered quickly and gave the three concerned Heads of House a nervous smile.

"Y-yes, I, er, I did, thank you for asking, monsieur," she said, perhaps a little too quickly than normal, for she noticed Lumiere's mouth turn down in a frown as he toyed with the ends of his blond ponytail.

Though before he could open his mouth to question her further or voice his concern, his attention was drawn towards someone moving to stand behind Belle.

The sound of dainty footsteps caused her ears to perk up at the noise and she turned, a shy smile finding her face as Laure came to stand by her.

Laure's face was pale, and the maid still looked tired and groggy at having to be up so early to start their days. A stray wisp or two of her auburn hair had come loose from her tight and neat bun, but her expression brightened considerably as she spotted Belle, though she did not look at Lumiere.

Belle wondered why she was flat-out refusing to look at him and pondered the nature of their relationship. She thought she saw his shoulders slump in disappointment and a shadow of anger dart across his features, though his expression was professional and his tone crisp as he addressed Laure.

A shiver ripped through her to hear the change in the man's normally quiet and mild-mannered voice. It was almost even cold. She did not understand Lumiere's hostility towards Mrs. Potts' niece.

"Laure, good morning," he spoke stiffly, barely moving his lips and looking suddenly tense. "We hoped that you would show lovely Belle here the ropes this morning after she delivers the master his breakfast. She has much to learn in the coming weeks and you are the fittest to show her how," Lumiere said with an almost bark to his voice that made Laure flinch away and Belle look up in surprise.

Belle began to notice the two of them had red eyes. Yes, there was an unspoken drama brewing between the two. She thought that things were beginning to add up. Belle flicked her gaze back to Laure, watching as a look of anger flared to life behind the young woman's sky-blue eyes.

Laure's lips parted as if she meant to speak, however, it took her new friend a moment.

Laure's tone was just as frosty as she replied, yet her expression was much calmer than Lumiere's, Belle noticed as she furrowed her brows, lost in thought.

"Of course, Lumiere, monsieur. It would be my pleasure. I had already mentioned to Belle last night that I would be the one to train her and give her a tour of the castle." She drew backward and began to grab a metal breakfast tray that was likely intended for the Prince as Lumiere stepped forward, seeming to want to aid and assist her, but the young maid refused him. "Please. Do not trouble yourself with our accounts. You have your duties to see to, you do not need to help us, sir," she retorted, ignoring the frown that Lumiere gave her, but thankfully, the man seemed to let it go as he turned towards Belle.

"Ma Cherie, as much as my esteemed colleagues would love to join you lovely ladies on your tour of the castle, I am afraid we find ourselves otherwise occupied this morning with the announcement from the master the Duke is coming to the castle to visit the master. We would have to join you perhaps another time if you are agreeable, mademoiselle," Lumiere confessed as he shot Belle a pained look.

She nodded, understanding, and the sigh he let out was enough for Belle to know just how grateful the three Heads of House were for her kindness and toleration.

There was no warmth in Lumiere's tone at the mention of the Prince's father. Belle felt her eyes widen in shock at the mention of the man who had subjected his son to such a horrible curse and had seemingly failed to right his grave mistake by not apologizing to his son, at a minimum, as a start.

"Then—the Duke is coming?" she stammered, flicking her gaze in between the three Heads of Houses and noticing the exasperated look on all three faces as they nodded. Belle opened her mouth to ask another question, though before she could, a sallow-faced guard with shoulder-length greasy black hair and a hooked nose poked his head in through the door and shot Monsieur Lumiere a rather rueful look.

"Monsieur, the Prince requests that you speak with the stable boys about brushing his horse. The master claims to want to ride this morning despite repeated attempts to tell him that a storm comes. The Prince says thoughts of the Duke are giving him a migraine and he wishes to ride to clear his mind," he said, sounding utterly exhausted.

Lumiere sighed and pinched at the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger as he nodded.

"Yes, yes, of course, Laurent, I was just about to…Please tell the stable master I will be there momentarily. I am on my way. Ladies," he murmured in a low husky voice, and it was then that Belle noticed the handsome older man eyeing Laure with great interest. Though he stepped forward and brought Belle's hand to his lips and kissed her fingers with such grace and tenderness that it made Belle blush. "Mademoiselle, I am grateful that you are here. Words cannot even describe how glad we all are that you accepted the position. I hope in time the master will be as well. You are already a fair sight lovelier than Collette, and with a much cheerier disposition," he complimented, and then with a turn of his heel, he disappeared from the kitchens without so much as a second glance behind his shoulder.

Belle was left to stand there watching Lumiere disappear out the door with the guard close behind at his heels, and not long after that, Mrs. Potts and Monsieur Cogsworth trickled out, though Laure's aunt paused. Mrs. Potts lingered in the doorway and hesitated, looking as though she was not sure to speak her parting words, but decided to proceed. Her kind voice floated in the air towards Belle's ears.

"Are you well, Belle? You are looking sick. I am afraid that we cannot hear of you overthrowing any food in the halls. The Prince would be within his mind to give you a beating for that. If you are ill, you should remain within the kitchens and scour the pots if you can't walk, you are looking peaky and quite faint."

Belle looked up at Mrs. Potts and Monsieur Cogsworth in surprise, her lips parted in shock.

"N-no, madame, I—I am just fine. I just…did not sleep so well last night is all. A—a nightmare, it woke me late at night, Mrs. Potts," Belle stammered, unable to form a coherent reply beyond what was the half-truth. She drew in a breath and held it, trying to ignore the burning feeling of Laure's questioning gaze burning a hole through her, though Mrs. Potts' niece had the sense to stay quiet.

Belle kept her gaze fixed on Mrs. Potts. Mrs. Potts was looking as though she did not quite believe her, for her brows furrowed in confusion. Yet, the older woman eventually nodded her head in agreement, not pressing the matter further, for which Belle was grateful.

"The first few weeks here in the castle are always the toughest, but if there is anything you need, anything you would like to discuss, do not hesitate to come to me, dear. We are here to support you through this time in your life, especially given your special circumstances. I am sorry about your father."

"I…thank you," Belle stammered, pursing her lips. She simply gaped at Mrs. Potts and at Laure too.

Mrs. Potts still lingered in the doorway looking across the kitchen at her with a kind smile on her face, the woman's bright eyes full of a motherly tenderness that Belle had always missed growing up.

She had not expected Mrs. Potts or anyone else within the castle to be so kind to her.

She had been bracing herself for them to treat her no better than the villagers did back home in Doveport. Rudeness was something that Belle could and easily dealt with back home.

But in her current uneasy state and feeling more vulnerable than she ever had before in her life since Papa had passed away, the old woman's kindness felt like a stab to the heart.

She sniffed as she felt her eyes starting to tear up. After a moment, she managed to find her voice.

"Well, I…ah…thank you, Mrs. Potts, for your kind words and your concern, you are too sweet to worry about me, b-but…I am sure that I will be fine," she replied in a clipped tone, more aggressive than she would have liked, for Belle quickly saw Mrs. Potts and Laure both flinch away in surprise. She flushed.

Belle ducked her head and tucked a wisp of her hair that had fallen loose from her braided ponytail back behind her ear. She did not wish for them to see her tears or her weakness. She wished just to be alone.

"Of course, my dear. As my niece has already mentioned, Laure will show you the ropes this morning, I am afraid I must go and assist Monsieur Cogsworth in ensuring the Duke's former chambers are adequately prepared in time for the man's arrival. As someone who has watched the young Prince grow, I would take care to steer clear of him this morning once you deliver his breakfast to him, he seems to be in a foul mood. Best to leave him be and give the master his space for the time being, dearie."

Mrs. Potts exchanged a brief look with her niece and only left when Laure nodded. She did not blame Belle in the slightest for not knowing how to react to her kindness or seeming to give off a rather frosty response just now. Once she was satisfied that their newest charge was in good hands with her niece, Mrs. Potts left the girls to see to her duties for the day, leaving Belle in the care and company of Laure.

Laure handed Belle the Prince's breakfast tray and motioned for her to follow her as she gave Belle a brief tour of the kitchens. She showed Belle where to pick up the Prince's meals, where to put the dirty dishes once the Prince was done eating, and what to do if he ever had a complaint about his food.

In addition to the tour of the kitchen, as they left to head towards the Prince's private rooms, his study where the man worked and read, she told him the times of day that he took his meals and afternoon tea with usually a lemon cake or slice of grain cake.

She was told where the Prince could be found at specific times of the day.

The job as the Prince's maid was going to be a lot more work than she realized, Belle knew, but hopefully, she would stay busy and her mind would not have time to dwell on what she'd recently lost.

As they headed towards the Prince's study, the two women made small talk, though Belle noticed Laure was careful to keep her voice low. It was as though she feared the guards and maids they passed by in the corridor were listening in on their private conversation as they headed through the East Wing. Most were watching Belle out of the corner of their eyes, interested, some of them leering wickedly at her.

Her cheeks reddened and she tried to pretend not to notice and instead fixated her gaze on her new friend as they walked, all the while she was careful not to jostle the heavily laden breakfast tray in her hands.

"Thank you, Laure, for showing me the ropes this morning, I don't know how I can thank you for your kindness," she started to say gratefully, though Laure immediately shook her head and dismissed Belle's thanks with a curt wave of her delicate hand.

"Don't thank me, Belle, as my aunt said, we're truly happy that you've come to us and on such short notice too. Collette, er… did not get along with the rest of the staff, she…"

She trailed off, unsure how much to reveal, and decided against it, not wanting to bring back unpleasant memories she knew that she would rather not think about.

"She will not be missed," was all Laure could think to say. "I just hope that Lumiere does not get too under your skin. You should stay away from him, the man is a ladies' man and cannot be trusted," she huffed, tucking an auburn curl away from her face.

Belle very nearly smiled and decided to chip in.

"I'm very sorry to hear that. He seems so nice. I assumed something had happened between the two of you. N-not to be nosy or anything, i-if something happened between the two of you, it is not my business to pry, I—I just… noticed that the two of you seemed, ah…upset."

Belle inwardly cringed as the words left her mouth and she noticed Laure's cheeks flush a deep cherry red out of growing embarrassment. She mentally slapped herself for daring to overstep her boundaries and presume to know the nature of Monsieur Lumiere and young Laure's relationship.

She does not even know this girl, not really, not as well as she would have liked to yet. She sighed.

Belle quickly realized that she had made a mistake and shook her head.

"I'm so sorry! I—I shouldn't have said that, I—I just saw that he was looking at you with such anger…" Belle let her voice trail off as she furrowed her eyebrows, her mind wandering as she looked at her.

Monsieur Lumiere had seemed so kind and mild-mannered when she had first met the man, if not a little too open and flirtatious for her liking. He was certainly handsome and charming and knew how to use those two features to his advantage. But despite that aspect of his character, he had given her no reason to think that he had a mean bone in his body. But now, because Laure was flushing, she wasn't so sure.

Laure looked shocked but admittedly less so than Belle expected her to be as she recovered quickly enough and shook her head.

"N-no, please, it's fine. He…uh… said some things to me last night that shocked me is all. He claims to have fallen madly in love with me, but he didn't seem to like it when I refused to be with him. It's not his age difference, it's not that, there are plenty of maids here under Mrs. Pott's command that have married older men, b-but…" She hesitated as she looked away from Belle for a moment, seemingly lost in thought and revisiting a memory from another time and another place.

Belle waited patiently for her new friend to speak. It was a moment or two before Laure came back to herself and the young auburn-haired maid realized that she still owed Belle an honest answer.

"I do not like that he has had…dalliances with Collette. She...er...looked like me, or my aunt says, though I never saw it. When she was dismissed, I thought that was the end of it. I suppose I can't avoid him forever. I am going to have to get used to seeing him around since he keeps trying to corner me in the corridor." She scoffed and rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "I've been debating with myself if it's worth it to find him and go talk things through…but I keep avoiding it. You must think I'm such a coward," Laure, confessed, her face pained.

"Oh, not at all." Belle shook her head firmly, not liking that her new friend seemed to hold such a low opinion of herself. She stopped when they came to a closed door and let out a soft, albeit nervous chuckle. "I—I am afraid I don't know much about romantic relationships, but if I can offer you some advice, then perhaps it's best if you can find him and speak with him, talk things through and get it off your chest now. You will eventually run into Lumiere since we all work together now and prolonging the inevitable won't help."

Laure's eyes widened and then her expression softened once more as yet again, her new friend recovered.

"Perhaps you're right, Belle," she confessed, tucking an auburn curl back behind her ear and paused to take the Prince's breakfast tray from Belle and moved to set it down on a small side table that was just to the right of the door. "Oh. I almost forgot. Here," she murmured, and before Belle could protest, her new friend proceeded to undo Belle's braided ponytail and reworked her hair into a neat bun. By the time she had finished, not a wisp or strand was out of place. "The master of the castle is a stickler for neat appearances. He barked at me the other day because my shoe had a scuff of shoe polish on it," she grunted, making a face. "He can be quite beastly about it and—hey, a-are you alright?" she stammered, taking note of the way Belle's face had paled at the use of the word beastly. She stared at her, worried.

"Mmm?" Belle blinked, and then flushed as she realized that she had accidentally just reacted to the word. Her blush deepened and she immediately tried to correct herself. "I—oh, yes, I—I'm fine, I—I am just…nervous, I suppose. I want this job to go well, and something tells me he won't be too pleased to hear his father is visiting him. I hope I don't say something to accidentally set his temper off," she stammered, her mouth, which was already dry, went dryer still.

She licked her lips and looked away from her new friend and towards the closed door, thinking there had never been a more intimidating door in all of her life.

True, this door was much the same as any other door here in the castle, yet knowing the Prince was behind there, waiting for her, caused a bead of sweat to glitter on her scalp.

Belle was relieved when Laure's face relaxed, her previously worried and slightly suspicious expression was soon replaced by one of confidence and determination. She reached out a hand to give Belle's shoulder a reaffirming little squeeze and she smiled softly at Belle.

"You will be fine, my friend. The fact that you have already seen the master in one of his worst moods yesterday when you stepped in to save the puppy speaks volumes as to the sort of woman you are. If anyone of us here in the castle can handle the master, I think it will be you, Belle," she chirped, giggling a little at Belle's nonplussed expression.

Then, Laure's expression turned more serious as she kept on.

"The master's been in a foul mood all morning, he and his father have never gotten on, but if we can get through the man's visit, it's one less thing for us to worry about. And…" She hesitated, as if unsure whether or not to continue, but decided to carry on as she saw Belle's brows rise in confusion. "And thank you, again, Belle, for…for your advice on speaking with Lumiere. I do not know what it is he thinks he sees in me," she huffed. "But I will speak with him. Anyways, I'm sorry to talk your ear off, me running my mouth is half of what gets me into such awful trouble most of the time. I'm just glad to have someone my age to talk to. Perhaps now, it won't be so lonely here. Anyways, you'd better go inside. He's been waiting."

Belle nodded, grateful for Laure's help.

"Thank you, Laure, for everything," she whispered shyly, biting down on her lip. "I hope that the two of us can become good friends, though I already see you as a friend."

Laure smiled warmly. "Me too, Belle."

Her piece said, with a twist of her skirts, the young maid was gone and disappearing down the corridor, leaving Belle alone in front of the door to one of the Prince's private rooms, she realized with a start.

Belle turned and hesitated, her hands that held the breakfast tray were slowly going numb. She stared at the chipped door handle she knew she needed to grab. Her hand seemed to have a mind of its own as she shifted the Prince's meal tray to balance on her other arm as she raised her hand to the door.

She did not even realize that her hands had begun to shake and were becoming clammy, something Belle had not anticipated. Her slender fingers curled around the doorknob.

"You're doing what you have to do. If this is the only way not to be with Gaston, then so be it. Get over it. Be strong. Papa and Mama would have wanted me to be strong, I know they would have," she whispered out loud, speaking in a hushed voice only above a whisper. With a firm twist and a push, Belle pushed the door open, and with a heavy sigh, not seeing the Prince as she nervously peered into the darkness, she slipped into the Prince's private study and disappeared within the shadows of the room.

That day, the trepidatious maid was the second figure to disappear into the inky darkness of the ajar study room's doors…